For You, Forever

“It’s his back again,” Daniel said. Jack had injured himself at work not that long ago and hadn’t been back to normal since. “You know how it gives him problems. Well, his wife has finally managed to convince him to reduce his hours at work. She’s inherited some money and wants them to take an early retirement, cruise around the Caribbean, that sort of thing.”

Emily frowned. “Your exciting news is that Jack and his wife are going on a cruise?”

Daniel laughed. “Yes!”

“I don’t get it,” she added, looking with bemusement at Chantelle’s and Amy’s excited expressions. “What’s the joke? What am I missing?”

Daniel continued. “Think about it,” he encouraged her. “He’ll need someone to run the wood store in his absence. Someone to deal with the shop.”

Emily gasped. “You mean… you?”

Chantelle couldn’t contain it anymore. She burst out her joyful exclamation. “Daddy’s getting promoted!”

Emily clapped a hand over her mouth. “That’s amazing!” she cried. “You deserve it.”

She couldn’t believe the good fortune and hopped off her stool, going around behind Daniel and hugging him tightly.

Daniel blushed shyly. He wasn’t one to readily take compliments.

“He’s going to give me a raise and a new title. It will mean longer hours though,” he added, sounding very serious. “I’ll need to be the first in to open up and I’ll need to be the last there at night to lock everything up properly. There’s expensive equipment and products in there and Jack never lets anyone else lock up, so it’s kind of a big deal for him to release the reins on that front. My shift pattern will be really odd as a result. Jack never minded driving to and from the woodshop at all hours, but now that I’ll be expected to do the same it will be an adjustment.”

Emily didn’t want to think about any of the possible downsides to the good news yet. Long shifts, extra responsibility over safety and security, and the inevitable stress that would cause him were all things she would deal with at the time. Right now, she wanted to ride the high of the good news.

“I’m so proud of you,” she said, pressing a kiss into the crown of his head.

“You should do something to celebrate,” Amy said from the other side of the breakfast bar.

“Definitely,” Emily agreed.

“I think we should go down to the beach!” Chantelle suggested.

“Well, while the weather’s like this, I don’t see why not,” Emily said. “We shouldn’t waste it.”

Chantelle punched the air. She loved the beach, the outside in general. Any opportunity to run and sprint in nature she took greedily.

“Amy?” Emily asked. “Are you joining us?”

Amy consulted her watch. “Actually, I’m supposed to be meeting Harry soon so I won’t have time.”

Emily couldn’t be sure, but she thought she heard an undertone in her friend’s voice, a kind of exasperation. She wondered if there was an issue between her and Harry.

But there was no time to discuss it now. The Morey family was in full action mode, Chantelle hurrying off in search of the dogs’ leashes, Daniel flinging open cupboards and pulling out bags, juice boxes, and snacks.

Emily touched Amy’s hand across the counter. “We’ll talk later,” she said.

Amy nodded, her expression a little downcast. Then Emily was swept up in the chaos of her family, like a tornado spinning around her pulling her in.

“Let’s go! To the beach!”

CHAPTER TWO

The beach was stunningly beautiful in the sunshine. Emily could hardly believe it was so sunny at this time of year. It was as warm and bright as any summer day.

They strolled along together, letting both the dogs off their leashes so they could run ahead and bark at the breaking waves.

Once they’d found a good spot to settle, Daniel helped Emily down to the ground. She sat crossed-legged, her pregnant bump nestled comfortably within her legs. Chantelle bounded off, filled with exuberance for what felt like their last chance to enjoy the beach this year.

Daniel reached over for Emily’s hand and stroked it tenderly.

“How do you feel about my promotion?” he asked. “Are you worried about the extra hours taking me away from home?”

“Well, how much time are we talking?” Emily asked. She was ready now to know more of the intricacies, to consider the challenges that they may face.

“Jack opens the store at eight,” he began. “That’s not the issue, really. I’m used to early starts and it will fit in with the school run. It’s the woodworking shop that’s the bigger issue. There are times when we get a big order and not a lot of time to do it. Before, when I was just a worker, I’d be one among many and at most it would add an extra hour or two to each work day. We could share the burden. But since I’ll be the one supervising the equipment use and be solely responsible for quality assurance, I’m going to need to be on site through each order, seeing everything through to completion, just like Jack used to. You know how long the hours could get anyway. Well, now I won’t be part of the shift pattern anymore. I’ll be in charge of it, and expected to be there during the busy periods.”

The more Daniel spoke about it, the more Emily could feel her anxiety increasing. The promotion was pretty bad timing. The thought of Daniel not being there when she went into labor worried her. And what about paternity leave? Would he even be able to get any?

But more than her anxiety, she was bursting with happiness for him. She was also extremely proud of Daniel and didn’t want to bring down his mood in any way. He had achieved so much since she’d known him. And besides, she had Amy there to catch the slack.

“I’m just so happy for you,” she said. “You deserve it, after all your hard work.”

“We could certainly do with the raise,” Daniel replied, his spare hand touching Emily’s stomach gently. “Since we’ll soon have more mouths to feed.”

Emily smiled and sighed with contentment. Despite the hardships she was facing, she was still looking forward to the future, to meeting Baby Charlotte.

When Daniel spoke again he sounded a little melancholy. “More responsibility means more stress. I hope I still have enough energy to spend time with the kids.”

“You’ll do amazingly,” Emily encouraged him. “I know you will.”

Though able to play the role of supportive spouse on the outside, Emily was still quite anxious about Daniel’s changing role. He had a tendency to let stress affect him, or to feel weighed down by perceived expectation. It was something she admired in him. But it could also be to the detriment of the family, because sometimes it felt like he’d put everything else in the world first before them. It wasn’t always easy for Emily to remind herself that the very reason he sometimes put other things first was for them – for her, and Chantelle, the inn, and of course, Baby Charlotte.

“I do wonder why Jack didn’t promote one of the others,” Daniel wondered aloud. “I’m relatively new there compared to some of the old hats.”

“Probably because you’re young,” Emily said. “Because you’ll work hard for your family. Or maybe because he knows that you have the talent to make it on your own.”

Daniel frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that you could easily open your own wood shop. It’s not like we don’t have the space for one on site somewhere. We could convert one of the barns, after all. And now you have tons of expertise with making furniture. I mean, you made the crib for Charlotte in your spare time and it’s phenomenal! People would pay loads for something like that, a unique crib for their baby. You only have to look at the price tag on my nursing stool to see that!” She laughed, remembering the thousands of dollars Amy had splashed out on the rocking armchair and footstool for her.

Daniel, on the other hand, was quiet. His expression was sort of dreamy and far away.

“What are you thinking?” Emily asked him.

He snapped back to attention. “I’m just thinking that you might be right about Jack promoting me to keep me there instead of losing me.”

“Might be right?” Emily joked. “I’m definitely right! You could run a bespoke kids’ furniture business. Or you could even make boats if you want. You have the talent to do anything you put your mind to.”

It was so obvious to Emily but Daniel looked stunned, as though the thought had never crossed his mind.